Lamoriello Named President of Hockey Operations

The New York Islanders announced today the hiring of Lou Lamoriello as President of Hockey Operations. He will have full authority over all hockey matters with the organization.

"We are grateful to Larry Tanenbaum and the Toronto Maple Leafs for their courtesy in allowing this move," Managing Partner of the Islanders, Scott Malkin said. "We are committed to giving Lou every resource and the full support of the entire organization as we pursue our program to compete at the highest level."

"I am excited to join such a storied franchise and look forward to working with Scott Malkin and the entire New York Islanders organization," Lamoriello said.

Lamoriello comes to the Islanders with a wealth of experience. Most recently, he was the General Manager of the Maple Leafs the past three years, qualifying for the playoffs the past two seasons.

Lamoriello originally joined the Devils as President and General Manager in 1987. Throughout his tenure in New Jersey, the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Playoffs 21 times, posted 13, 100-point seasons, won nine division titles, went to the Stanley Cup Final five times and won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003. The Devils also earned 13 consecutive post-season berths from 1997-2010. Over the course of his tenure in New Jersey, the Devils posted a regular season record of 1,093-759-179-109 and a playoff record of 136-116. In 1996, New Jersey's American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany Devils won the Calder Cup, marking the first time an NHL organization and their AHL franchise has won both championships in the same season.

Lamoriello also served as the Head Coach for 50 regular season games in 2005-06 (32-14-4) and the final three regular season games in 2006-07. The Devils qualified for the playoffs and reached the Eastern Conference Final in both seasons.

In 2009, Lamoriello received the highest honor there is in the sport of hockey as he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

During his time in New Jersey, Lamoriello was named as vice-chairman and CEO of the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets in addition to his responsibilities with the Devils after the hockey team was purchased by YankeeNets. Following back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, Lamoriello relinquished his posts with the Nets when YankeeNets sold the Nets to an independent owner in 2004.

Internationally, Lamoriello served as the General Manager for Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. On a team that included current Islanders Head Coach, Doug Weight, Team USA won the inaugural tournament championship, defeating Team Canada in a best-of-three final. He also served as General Manager for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The Johnston, RI native was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012 and, in 1992, received the Lester Patrick Trophy in recognition of his service to hockey in the United States.

Prior to his time in the NHL Lamoriello spent two decades at Providence College, including 15 seasons as Head Coach. During his time behind the bench, the Friars finished with a 248-179-13 record, qualified for 12 consecutive post-season tournament berths and had more players drafted into the NHL after entering college, than any other college team during Lamoriello's last five years. He also served as the College's Athletic Director, overseeing Providence's prominence in all their sports. Lamoriello was one of five founders of Hockey East Association and served as commissioner of the league from 1983-87. Since 1989, the winner of the Hockey East tournament is awarded the Lamoriello Trophy. Lamoriello was inducted into the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. As an athlete, he captained both the hockey and baseball teams at Providence. He later played baseball, coached and managed teams in the Cape Cod Baseball League and the Quebec Provincial League.

Lamoriello's numerous accolades include inductions into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2009, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2004, the LaSalle Academy Hall of Fame in 2004, the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey in 2002 and was named the recipient of Unico National's Vincent T. Lombardi Trophy in 2000 for professional sports achievement. He has also served on the board of directors of the Yogi Berra Museum since 2006 and has been a member of the board of Yankee Global Enterprises since 2004.